The prediction of mass-transfer rates into and from moving drops in the liquid−liquid systems has usually
used the well-known Whitman two-film theory approach. According to the latter, the total resistance to mass
transfer resides on each side of the interface and is described by the individual film mass-transfer coefficients
for the continuous and dispersed phases in the absence of surface-active agents (contaminants). In the present
work, the same approach has been used to model the excess mass-transfer resistance exerted by surface-active agents in the continuous phase. To achieve this goal, an experimental investigation has been conducted
on the mass transfer into and from single drops for the chemical test system, n-butanol−succinic acid−water,
recommended by the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) in the presence and absence of
the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The influence of the latter on the drop size, drop contact
time, extraction fraction, viscosity of the continuous phase, and interfacial tension as well as the overall
mass-transfer coefficients for both mass-transfer directions has been investigated. On the basis of the
experimental results obtained for both mass-transfer directions, the excess mass-transfer resistance exerted
by the surfactant has been correlated in terms of drop Reynolds numbers for the clean and contaminated
chemical systems.
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